Method and apparatus for uterus stabilization

ABSTRACT

A system and method for surgery on a hollow organ comprises a source of a biocompatible gellable fluid in a flowable state and an insertion device for introducing the gellable fluid into a hollow organ of a patient, the gellable fluid transitioning from the flowable state to a gel-like state to form a gel mass within the hollow organ to support a wall of the hollow organ in combination with a state control apparatus for transitioning the gel mass from the gel-like state to the flowable state and a removal device for removing from the hollow organ the gellable fluid in the flowable state.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The treatment of many diseases affecting hollow organs or other bodylumens often requires direct surgical treatment of the wall of theorgan. Tumors, fibroids, lesions and other conditions affecting thewalls of hollow organs are generally treated surgically using tools thatmay be inserted into the organ, or which reach the surface of the organfrom the outside. These tools may be used to deliver electric energy,heat or a chemical ablation compound to necrose the targeted tissue, ormay simply be used to cut the diseased tissue from surrounding healthytissue.

One difficulty associated with these procedures is that the walls ofmost hollow organs are not fixed firmly in place but are relatively freeto move, flex and shift position. Thus, when a force is applied to suchtissue, (e.g., by a cutting or ablating tool pressed thereagainst), thetarget area moves making it difficult to complete the operation. Forexample, during procedures to treat uterine fibroids such asmyomectomies and myolysis, the fibroids as well as the uterine wall movearound making it difficult to grasp or prevent movement of the affectedtissue complicating and lengthening the procedure.

Various methods have been devised in an attempt to stabilize the uteruswall during surgery. Screw-like devices have been attached to the targettissue to retain it in place while another tool is used to ablate thetissue. However, these screw-like devices must be sufficiently small tofit through endoscopic or laparoscopic instruments such as trocarsreaching the target tissue, and thus may not be able to grasp enoughtissue to fully stabilize the target region. Manipulator devices ofvarious kinds may be used to move the target organ, but generally thesedevices cannot provide stability to the entire organ, and the surgeonstill has to face a target tissue which is difficult to grasp and hold.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, the present invention is directed to a surgical systemcomprising a source of a biocompatible gellable fluid in a flowablestate and an insertion device for introducing the gellable fluid into ahollow organ of a patient, the gellable fluid transitioning from theflowable state to a gel-like state to form a gel mass within the holloworgan, the gel mass supporting walls of the hollow organ to stabilizethe walls in combination with a first state control apparatus fortransitioning the gel mass from the gel-like state to the flowable stateand a removal device for removing from the uterus the gellable fluid inthe flowable state.

In a further aspect, the present invention is directed to a method ofperforming surgery, comprising inserting into a hollow organ a gellablefluid and causing a transition of the gellable fluid from substantiallyflowable state to a substantially gel-like state to form a gel masssupporting a wall of the hollow organ in combination with surgicallytreating the wall of the hollow organ, causing a transition of thegellable fluid of the gel mass to the substantially flowable state andremoving the gellable fluid from the hollow organ.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an exemplary embodiment of thesystem according to the invention, including a gellable materialinserted into an uterus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention may be further understood with reference to thefollowing description and the appended drawings, wherein like elementsare referred to with the same reference numerals. The present inventionis related to methods and systems to stabilize a hollow organ duringsurgery. More specifically, the invention is directed to methods andsystems for stabilizing the uterus during surgery to treat fibroids orother abnormalities of the wall of the uterus.

As described above, surgical procedures carried out on hollow organspresent special problems because the associated tissues can be moved bya small amount of pressure or force. For example, in procedures such asmyomectomies and myolysis, this movement makes grasping and/or piercinga fibroid to apply a source of RF or thermal energy, or other tissueablation device thereto more difficult. Surgical removal of the tissueby cutting with a blade is also made more difficult as the uterine wallmoves away from the blade without offering sufficient resistancethereto.

Devices used to resolve these shortcomings include fibroid screws, tumorscrews and various organ manipulation tools. Fibroid and tumor screwsare designed to ‘bite’ into the target tissue and retain it in placewhile another medical device, generally a tissue ablation probe, is usedto puncture the tissue mass and apply an ablative treatment thereto. Thetumor screws are typically inserted into the body via a laparoscope,endoscope or other similar instrument, and therefore have to besufficiently small to fit through the working passage of thoseinstruments. The small size of the screws prevents them from grasping alarge amount of tissue, so that only a small amount of diseased tissueis immobilized or stabilized in the procedure. In addition, the screw'ssmall size makes it more likely that it will pull free of the targettissue necessitating a repeat of the procedure.

Organ manipulation devices are inserted in the patient's body and areused to move the organ being treated in a position favorable tofacilitate the surgical procedure. These devices are generallyspoon-like or forceps-like elongated tools. However, this type of organmanipulation device generally does not completely fill the cavity of thehollow organ into which it is inserted. Thus, these devices are unableto stabilize the entire organ and piercing the target tissue with anablation probe may still be difficult even when an organ manipulationdevice is used.

According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, a holloworgan such as the uterus is stabilized in preparation for surgery byinjecting a flowable material, typically a fluid, into the cavity of thehollow organ. Once inside the organ, the flowable fluid is transitionedto a gel-like state, so that the cavity is filled with a resilient mass,stabilizing the cavity during surgical procedures by providing a backingbehind the wall of the hollow organ against which the surgeon may push.

After the therapy has been completed, the gel-like substance istransitioned back to a flowable state for removal from the organ. Aswould be understood by those skilled in the art, different drainageand/or aspiration devices may be used to remove the flowable fluid fromthe organ. For example, an endoscope or similar device incorporatingaspiration lumens may be used. The fluid utilized may use differentmechanisms to change state, but generally must be gellable underspecifiable conditions compatible with the environment in which it is tobe used. The fluid should be in a substantially liquid, flowable statewhen inserted and withdrawn from the hollow organ, and should besolidifiable into a gel-like, non flowing state during the surgicalprocedure. Using a gellable fluid inside the cavity of the target organ,according to embodiments of the present invention, renders surgicalprocedures performed on those organs safer and faster, by providingincreased stability and a more fixed position of the target tissue.

According to one exemplary embodiment, stabilization of the uterus iscarried out by inserting a gellable fluid into the uterine cavitythrough an hysteroscope. FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of an apparatusfor use in performing the procedure according to the present invention.In this example, a hysteroscope 100 is used to treat a patient's uterus90. More specifically, a uterine fibroid 116 present on a wall 114 ofthe uterus 90 is to be treated surgically. In this example, a myolysisprobe or injection needle 120 is used to reach the tissue of the uterinefibroid 116 through the patient's skin 118. Conventionally, when thedistal tip 122 of the probe 120 starts pushing against the fibroid 116,the uterine wall 114 offers little resistance and moves out of the way,together with the fibroid 116. This makes it very difficult for thesharp distal end 122 to pierce the fibroid's tissue.

According to the invention, stabilization of the uterus 90 is achievedby injecting a fluid into the uterine cavity 112, and causing the fluidto transition from a flowable state to a gel-like state beforeperforming the surgical procedure to treat the fibroid 116. For example,a single or dual lumen hysteroscope 100 may be used to insert thegellable material through the cervix 124 and into the uterine cavity112. The hysteroscope 100 may include a fluid supply component 102, suchas a syringe or other source of pressurized fluid. The fluid supplycomponent 102 may be hand operated, or may use other mechanisms as knownin the art to propel the fluid into the uterus 90 at an appropriatepressure. Fluid should be supplied to the uterus 90 until intrauterinepressure is between 10 and 50 mmHg (uterine volumes 15-45 cc).

The gellable fluid inserted into the uterine cavity 112 may, forexample, be a lower critical solution (LCST) material which changes froma flowable state to a gel-like state when moving past a criticaltemperature. For example, the fluid may be liquid below the criticaltemperature, and may be gel-like above that temperature. If the criticaltemperature is selected to be just below the body temperature, the fluidmay be cooled before injection into the body so that, after injection,the fluid is warmed by body heat above its critical temperature totransition to the gel-like state, forming a mass 110 within the uterinecavity 112. Examples of fluids that may be used for this purpose includepolyoxyethylene-polyoxypropylene (PEO-PPO) block copolymers, such asPluronic acid F127 and F108. It will be apparent to those of skill inthe art that additional compounds may be used, within the requirement ofbeing biocompatible and having a critical temperature substantiallyequal to or slightly below the body temperature. The criticaltemperature is preferably within 10-37 degrees C. Once the gellablefluid has been introduced into uterus 90, an appropriate procedure tocause the fluid to gel is performed. For example, the procedure mayconsist of simply letting a pre-cooled fluid warm to the bodytemperature within the uterus 90 until the critical temperature isexceeded. This process is suitable for LCST fluids, as described above.Of course, those skilled in the art will understand that the fluid maybe warmed to speed the formation of the mass 110.

In another embodiment, the gellable fluid may be a cross-linkablepolymer which is a fluid when not cross linked, and becomes a gel whenexposed to a cross linking agent. In this exemplary embodiment, thegellable fluid containing the cross-linkable polymers is inserted intothe uterine cavity 112, for example through a hysteroscope as describedabove. Once the fluid is in place, a cross linking agent is introduced,also for example through the working lumen of the hysteroscope or otherdevice. The reaction of the two compounds causes the fluid to becomegel-like and form the mass 110. A variety of cross linkable polymers maybe used according to the invention, such as ionically and non-ionicallycross-linkable polymers. It will be apparent to those of skill in theart that many biocompatible, cross-linkable polymers and cross-linkingcatalytic agents may be used according to the invention. The particularcompound to be used may be selected in view of the desired fluid andgel-like properties which may be obtained, and based on the surgicalprocedure to be performed. Additional gellable fluids and methods oftransitioning the selected fluid to a gel-like state may be used, aswill be apparent to those of skill in the art.

Additional elements may be included in the gellable fluid that isintroduced into the cavity of the hollow organ. For example, varioustherapeutic compounds may be added to the basic gellable fluid. Drugswhich assist in the treatment of the lesion or fibroid may be included(GNRH's for example), as well as chemotherapy agents, disinfectingagents, etc. Analgesic drugs may also be included, to reduce thediscomfort to the patient caused by the surgery. To facilitate certainprocedures, radiopaque materials such as sodium bicarbonate, bariumsulfate and others known in the art may be included in the gellablefluid, to simplify visualization of the organ being treated.

After the fluid has been filled into the uterine cavity 112 and formedinto a gel-like mass 110, the wall 114 of the uterus 90 becomes morestable facilitating treatment of fibroids and other growths and lesions.In addition, the gel-like mass 110 also prevents the wall 114 from beingpushed too close to the opposite wall 115 of the uterus 90, increasingthe safety of certain procedures that involve piercing or cutting thetissue of a fibroid 116 with a sharp point, such as tip 122. Byretaining a substantially fixed distance between the opposed walls 114,115 it is less likely that the sharp point 122 will reach the oppositewall 115 and cause an unwanted perforation thereof.

After treatment has been completed, the gel-like material may be removedfrom the uterine cavity 112. In the case of a gellable fluid of the LCSTtype, the fluid in the gel-like state is transitioned back to the fluidstate by cooling it below the critical temperature. In one exemplaryembodiment, a fluid cooler than the critical temperature is injectedinto the uterus 90 in the same manner as the gellable fluid was injectedto bring the temperature of the mass 110 back below the criticaltemperature at which point it returns to the liquid state for aspirationfrom the uterus 90. For example, a hysteroscope 100 may be used, andmore specifically a single or dual lumen device placed in the uterus 90through the working channel of the hysteroscope 100 is used to introducethe cooling fluid thereto.

If a cross-linkable polymer is used as the gellable fluid, a de-crosslinking agent os injected into the uterus 90 after completion of theprocedure. The de-cross linking agent returns the gel-like mass 110 to asubstantially liquid state for removal from the uterine cavity 112. Asin the case of a LCST fluid, the working channel of a hysteroscope orother device inserted through the hysteroscope may be used to remove theflowable material. In some cases, it may be beneficial to use a singleor multi lumen device that fits in the working lumen of the hysteroscopeand which is better suited to receive the flow of fluid being removed. Asuction device 104, such as a syringe or other hand operated or powereddevice may be used to facilitate removal of the fluid from the cavity ofthe hollow organ. A catheter, cannula or other device may be used, forexample, to allow extraction of the fluid by gravity, or by applying anexternal force to the fluid.

The present invention has been described with reference to specificembodiments, and more specifically to a method and system to treatuterine fibroids. However, other embodiments may be devised that areapplicable to other types of diseases and to other hollow organs,without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, variousmodifications and changes may be made to the embodiments, withoutdeparting from the broadest spirit and scope of the present invention asset forth in the claims that follow. The specification and drawings areaccordingly to be regarded in an illustrative rather than restrictivesense.

1. A method of performing surgery, comprising: inserting into a holloworgan a gellable fluid in a flowable state; causing a transition of thegellable fluid from substantially flowable state to a substantiallygel-like state to form a gel mass supporting a wall of the hollow organ;surgically treating the wall of the hollow organ; causing a transitionof the gellable fluid of the gel mass to the substantially flowablestate by introducing a transition agent into the patient through a firstdevice inserted in the hollow organ; and removing the gellable fluidfrom the hollow organ via the first device, wherein the organ is auterus, and an amount of the gellable fluid inserted into the uterus issufficient so that the gel mass maintains a substantially fixed distancebetween opposed walls of the uterus.
 2. The method according to claim 1,wherein a quantity of gellable fluid inserted into the hollow organ isselected so that, when the fluid is transitioned to the gel-like state,the gel mass formed maintains a substantially fixed distance betweenopposite portions of the wall during the surgical treatment of the wall.3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the surgical treatment ofthe wall includes one of a myolysis, a myomectomy, an injection and anablation procedure.
 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein thegellable fluid is a cross-linkable polymer, the method furthercomprising inserting a cross linking agent into the hollow organ totransition the gellable fluid to the gel-like state.
 5. The methodaccording to claim 4, wherein the fluid is a LCST, further comprisinginserting a de-cross linking agent into the hollow organ aftercompletion of the surgical treatment and prior to removal of thegellable fluid therefrom to transition the gellable fluid back to theflowable state.
 6. The method according to claim 1, further comprisingcooling the gellable fluid to a temperature lower than the criticaltemperature to transition the gellable fluid from the gel-like state tothe flowable state prior to removal thereof from the hollow organ. 7.The method according to claim 1, wherein the hollow organ is a uterus,further comprising inserting into the uterus a hysteroscope adapted toinject fluids thereto.
 8. The method according to claim 1, whereingellable fluid is inserted into the uterus to a pressure not exceeding50 mmHg.